It’s Saturday Night Baseball from Wrigley Field and if the first two games of this series are any indication, it should be a close game once again between the long-time arch rivals.

The Cubs have allowed just three runs to the Cardinals in two games but have split the first two games despite outscoring the best team in baseball 5-3 over the last 18 innings. And it will not get any easier for the Cubs offense tonight with Lance Lynn on the hill.

Matt Garza may or may not be making his final start in a Cubs’ uniform. Garza might be auditioning for one of the teams interested in him while he tries to beat them and earn his fifth straight victory. The scout section should be filled once again tonight as at least seven teams gather more information in order to decide if Garza is worth what the Cubs are asking in return.

Tonight it all starts with Matt Garza …

Matt Garza is coming off another excellent outing and his fourth straight victory. Garza held the Sox to two runs, one earned, on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts in seven innings. Garza ran out of gas on a hot, humid night at the Cell but did not show signs of tiring toward the end of his outing.

Matt Garza is 4-0 in his last five starts with a 0.97 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP (34 strikeouts, eight walks and 24 hits in 37 innings).

Matt Garza makes his first start tonight at Wrigley since June 21 when he surrendered one run on four hits to the Astros in eight innings. Matt Garza is 2-1 in three home starts this season with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

Tonight marks the first time that Garza has faced the Cardinals since his final start of the 2012 season. Garza departed that game after striking out Matt Holliday swinging and did not take the hill of a big league mound again for 10 months. For his career, Garza is 2-1 in six starts versus the Redbirds with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP … last year, Garza held the Cardinals to two runs on six hits in 10 innings over two starts.

Cardinals Career Numbers against Matt Garza

Carlos Beltran – 0-for-7

Matt Carpenter – 0-for-1 with two walks

Allen Craig – 0-for-3

Daniel Descalso – 0-for-3 with two walks

David Freese – 2-for-9 with a double and a home run

Matt Holliday – 6-for-18 with two doubles

Jon Jay – 4-for-6 with a double and a walk

Rob Johnson – 0-for-3

Yadier Molina – 2-for-12

The Cubs offense will have the joy of facing Lance Lynn tonight. Lynn is coming off another win after holding the Marlins to two runs on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in seven innings. Lynn lost two games in a row prior to dominating Miami. The Cardinals had won his six previous starts leading up to the starts in Houston and Anaheim.

After posting a 3-1 record in six starts in May with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, Lynn managed a 3-1 record in five starts in June with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Over his last two outings, Lynn is 1-1 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP while teams are hitting over .300 against him (.308). Lynn has struggled on the road this season (4-3 in nine starts with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP) but he has owned the Cubs during his career.

Lance Lynn is 5-1 in seven appearances, six starts, against the Cubs with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Lynn faces the Cubs for the third time this year tonight and is 1-1 in the first two with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP.

The Cubs have shown little to no patience against Lynn in the past … and that must change beginning tonight.